Kosher Australia

February 2009

Breaking News: 13% of Americans Buy Kosher Food, Latest Mintel Report Shows

New York…Americans of all backgrounds are buying kosher foods, according to the latest survey of kosher by the research group, a leading researcher of consumer goods. Thirteen percent of respondents in a national survey by Mintel indicated that they purchase kosher food, either for themselves or for someone else in their households. The major reason for purchasing kosher food, the survey shows, is for reasons of food quality (62%) or for general healthfulness (51%). All told, 30% of those who buy kosher food do so for religious purposes; 14% follow kosher rules; 10% follow some other religious rules with eating restrictions similar to kosher; and 6% follow halal religious rules. The survey is the third on kosher foods by Mintel since 2005. The survey revealed that the conventional supermarket or superstore is the primary source for kosher food, and 40% of those who buy kosher food do so at Wal-Mart. More than half (55%) of kosher food buyers wish there were more kosher options in the stores in which they currently shop, suggesting an unmet need among many kosher consumers for a wider variety of available products.

According to researcher Marcia Mogolansky, the top reason for purchasing kosher products is food quality, not religious affiliations. In fact, 62% of respondents to Mintel’s survey who buy kosher products do so for food quality reasons, while 17% say that they buy kosher for food safety reasons. Consumers tend to associate kosher products with above-average quality and safety because of the inspection process to which kosher products are subjected. Under-35's are the most likely to buy kosher food for religious or ethical reasons. This is not surprising, considering the extent to which younger consumers make up the ranks of Orthodox Jews.

Editorial, KosherToday Newsletter, 3/2/2009.

January 2009

Melbourne’s kosher restaurant scene cooking with gas, The Australian Jewish News, 28/1/2009.

May 2009

Fine food much kosher than you think, Lake times, 14/5/2009.

April 2008

Tips: Finding Kosher Selections, The Washington Post, 9/4/2008.

November 2006

QUITE A TRIP TO GO TO A MEETING: THREE AUSTRALIAN RABBIS ATTEND GATHERING OF ASSOCIATION OF KASHRUS ORGANIZATIONS, HELD AT THE ORTHODOX UNION IN NEW YORK

They traveled a long way for a meeting, but it was important, given the range of topics discussed, encompassing literally every significant issue today in kosher certification. Rabbis Yankel Wajsbort of Kosher Australia in Melbourne; Rabbi Moshe David Gutnick of the Kashrut Authority in Sydney; and Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick, of Kosher Australia, flew 26 hours to New York to attend Thursday’s annual meeting of the Association of Kashrus Organizations (AKO), which is held the day following the giant KosherFest show in New York.

The meeting of the Chicago-based AKO was held at the Manhattan headquarters of the Orthodox Union, the world’s largest certification organization. Dozens of representatives of kashrut agencies were in attendance, but none came from as far as Australia. London was the closest, but crossing the Pond from the UK fell far short of the globe-hopping trip taken by the three Australian rabbis.

Rabbis Yankel Wajsbort, Moshe David Gutnick and Modechai Gutnick (l - r) traveled 26 hours from Australia to attend the meeting.

September 2006

Farmers being asked, "are you Kosher?", ABC Rural, 18/9/2006.